Court rejects move to stop publication of The Edge

PHOTO: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR - Two financial publications suspended over their reporting of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) may be back on the shelves sooner than thought, after the High Court upheld a ruling against the temporary ban.

The Edge Financial Daily and The Edge Weekly may resume printing after the court yesterday dismissed the government's application to stay a ruling last month, which had allowed the publisher to resume printing ahead of the end of a three-month printing ban, the Malay Mail Online news site reported.

The Home Ministry on July 27 slapped the three-month ban on the two publications, both owned by The Edge Communications, accusing them of carrying damning reports about 1MDB, which the loss-making state-owned investment agency alleged were detrimental to public order, security and national interest.

But the High Court on Sept 21 ordered the suspension to be lifted and told the ministry to pay RM15,000 (S$5,000) in costs to the publisher.

"She (The High Court justice) said there were no reasons shown as to the harm that would be caused by the continued publication for a stay to be granted," Senior Federal Counsel Alice Loke Yee Ching, who appeared for the Home Minister, told reporters.

The court yesterday also ordered the minister and the Home Ministry's secretary-general, who are the respondents, to pay RM4,000 in costs.

This article was first published on October 14, 2015. Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.